ICC Note: Reports of three churches torched in northwest Tanzania and have increased to six, according to World Watch Monitor. Islamic extremists are considered to be the likely culprits of the arson attacks as threats have been made towards local Christian communities. In January 2015, another Tanzanian Christian church was burned to the ground by Islamic extremists. According to the secretary of a local pastors organization, 13 churches have been burned in Kagera, Tanzania since 2013 with none held accountable for the acts. This is an update from a previous report posted on September 28, 2015.
10/01/2015 Tanzania (World Watch Monitor) – Six churches have been burnt down in northwest Tanzania within the past week.
First, on 23 September, three churches were torched – the Living Waters International Church, Buyekera Pentecostal Assemblies of God, and Evangelical Assemblies of God Tanzania churches, which are all located in the Bukoba region, on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Then, during the night of 26 September, three more churches – also in Bukoba – were torched: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kitundu Roman Catholic Church and Katoro Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church. All are located in the Katoro region of western Bukoba.
“The people woke up on 27th Sep to find their sanctuaries burnt down,” an anonymous source told World Watch Monitor. “The scenarios are the same; unknown people broke in, piled things onto the altar, poured petrol over it and set it alight. They fled before anyone could respond and so remain unknown.”
